Topical Tropes

These are what we call the 'YMMV items.' Things that some people find in this work. We call them 'your mileage might vary' because not everyone sees these things in the same way. This starts discussions in the trope lists, a thing we don't want. Please use the discussion page if you'd like to discuss any of these items.

Anti-Hero: He's been described by Hogan as a "good guy character with a maniacal edge"

Base Breaker: One of the biggest. As if the Self-Destruction DVD, and the reaction to it, wasn't enough evidence.note According to Jericho, WWE wrestlers were ordered to bury him every chance they got. Of course, that changed the second Warrior signed to come back for the Hall of Fame and the Self-Destruction DVD was put out of print immediately, so make of those interviews what you will.

Arn Andersonsaid that Vince pushed Warrior even though he wasn't going to be a great wrestler and it worked. Interestingly, Arn said that Warrior, behind the scenes, kept to himself and was quiet and intense.

Ted DiBiasealonegoes back and forth on the subject. DiBiase credits Warrior for trusting him to lead a match when they were both in Mid-South and says that Warrior was "tremendously dedicated to keeping his body in shape. That's about it." He says that Warrior was very calculating, rude to the fans, and repeatedly held Vince up for more money. This might explain Vince's notorious reticence with putting the belt on wrestlers who reside outside of his inner circle.

"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, who first encountered UW in his Blade Runners days in Mid-South/UWF, said that Warrior was never happy.

The Honky Tonk Mansaid that, although Rick Rude taught Warrior how to do a 20-minute match, doing those matches killed Warrior's gimmick, as he was like a precursor to Goldberg's "spear, Jackhammer, 3-count" matches.

The Bushwhackerssaid that they got along fine with Warrior because they knew him from the UWF, but that he would ignore fans who asked him for autographs when he was at the gym. They say that Warrior did that because he saw wrestling as a way to get paid for working out, and that he stopped after Vince told him that everybody signs autographs. They also give Rick Rude credit for helping Warrior learn how to work the right way.

Big Lipped Alligator Moment: Downplayed. After the Warrior comic came out, WWE pushed an angle where Jerry Lawler, at the time an announcer, mocked the comic for its poor artwork compared to his own. This was supposed to end with Lawler painting a portrait of Warrior as a peace offering, which Warrior would then break over his head, but when Warrior came into the ring to recieve the painting, he ran in with his hair tied back wearing one of his own merchandise baseball caps, acting as if nothing were out of the ordinary. It's a minor one but Lawler claims that the sheer randomness of it completely threw him off and deflated the crowd.

Bullying a Dragon: On The Self-Destruction Of The Ultimate Warrior, Bobby Heenan tells a (possibly apocryphal) antecdote about how, in his feud with Andre the Giant, he would run at Andre as fast as he could and slam him with a clothesline much harder than he needed to. Eventually Andre got sick of it and shot on the Warrior- holding up his fist and hitting Warrior right between the eyes as he ran in for the clothesline. After that, Warrior was apparently so cowed that he would barely touch Andre in their matches.

Dude, Not Funny!: During his 2005 feud with WWE, he called Droz a cripple. For those who don't know, Droz was a WWE wrestler who was left a quadriplegic after a horrible botch during a match. John Bradshaw Layfield called Warrior a "piece of shit" in response.

With the death of the Ultimate Warrior a DVD known as "The Self-destruction of the Ultimate Warrior" really doesn't suit well.

Dumbass Has a Point: Shortly after Randy Savage's death, Hulk Hogan gave an interview about Randy, their rocky friendship and the details of Randy's marriage to Elizabeth, including how paranoid and protective Randy was of her. Warrior responded with a vlog that, predictably, rambled through the point, but he was right when he pointed out that Hogan airing the sordid details of his friend's failed marriage was kind of a dick move, especially on the heels of the man's untimely demise.

Harsher in Hindsight/Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: As cruelly amusing as it is to watch him splatter HHH in 90 seconds, given how it clearly led to HHH realizing he'd have to do everything possible to protect his spot if he ever got to the point where something like that would actually mean something, it looks more and more like a bad idea.

Post-9/11, is any wrestler ever going to do a promo where he threatens to crash a plane?

His promo on RAW the night after Wrestlemania 30 about living forever in the hearts of his fans is especially harsh considering that he passed away the next night.

Warrior: Every man's heart one day beats its final beat, his lungs breath their final breath. And if what that man did in his life, makes the blood pulse through the body of others, and makes them believe deeper in something larger than life, then his essence, his spirit, will be immortalized by the storytellers, by the loyalty, by the memory, of those who honor him and make whatever the man did live forever.

And his Hall of Fame Speech about how the Ultimate Warrior would continue to run throughout the spirits of the WWE for generations to come....You know what, everything about the Warrior in regards to Wrestlemania XXX is built on this.

Even worse: the WWE 2K14 promo, which STARTS OFF with Warrior claiming that "NOT EVEN....the Grim Reaper himself, STARVING to get his hands on" his soul, could keep him from appearing in the game.

Irony: After being dumped by WCW, Warrior didn't have another match until 2008. The match was with the Italy-based Nu-Wrestling Evolution against Orlando Jordan, giving us the irony of a fight between Mr "Queering doesn't make the world work", and the man who would a few short years later be sexually assaulting his way through both genders in the TNA roster.

Legacy Character: Subverted, he would often try to claim that he and his opponent du jour (usually Hogan), were the latest in a long line of champions or heroes representing two sides in an ancient conflict. Needless to say, they weren't.

Love It or Hate It: Christian put it best at the end of The Self Destruction Of The Ultimate Warrior by saying "Love him or hate him, or whatever, everyone remembers the Ultimate Warrior."

Memetic Mutation: "LOAD THE SPACESHIP WITH THE ROCKET FUEL, LOAD IT WITH THE WORDS!"

Money, Dear Boy: He was not afraid of admitting the only reason he got involved with the business was to make money and that he wasn't a fan nor watched wrestling.

Narm: Try to take any of his promos seriously. Yeah... ain't happening.

Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: Beyond being a big guy who beat people up in a berserker rage, it's difficult to pin down exactly what the Warrior character was supposed to be, especially since it was almost impossible to understand his promos; at various times he seemed to claim to be an alien, an ancient mystical warrior or some kind of superhero.

Running Gag: In re The Other Darrin on the main page: This created an early one on the Usenet newsgroup rec.sport.pro-wrestling that said, "he died and was replaced by Steve DiSalvo". The gag took on a life of its own and when some new poster would ask, "Who is <Wrestler X>?", some joker would answer, "Steve DiSalvo."

Shout-Out: "I was sent in a capsule from a place long from here", is a either a reference to Superman, or another bit of rambling nonsense.

It's Warrior. Definitely nonsense.

Smug Super: He would occasionally refer to non-wrestlers as "normals", and express contempt for their weakness compared to him and his opponents.

So Bad, It's Good: He's hysterical because he's just so bizarre in everything he's involved with.

Tear Jerker: His death on 4/8/14, barely a few days after finally being inducted into the Hall of Fame, cutting one last promo on the post-Wrestlemania RAW, and having finally buried the hatchet with a number of people whom he had burned bridges with (and vice versa).

Sadly, not everyone. Ted DiBiase, who played a huge part in burying Warrior, has said he regrets never getting a chance to make amends with him.

What Could Have Been: How would the face of wrestling be different today, if Vince's original plans for the Warrior had worked out?

X-Pac Heat: During his match with Hogan at WrestleMania VI, the fans were torn between cheering for him and cheering for Hogan. In their rematch at WCW Halloween Havoc 98, the crowd was split again, but this time it was between people chanting "Hogan sucks" and people chanting "Warrior sucks."

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